So This is Real?
by HollyWritesFanfics
Summary: Aunt May is found dead in an alleyway. Peter's life is a wreck. Shockingly, it's the Tony Stark who ends up taking Peter in. Not even a month into his new life, Peter gets kidnapped. When Tony brings him back home, he realizes how attached he's become to the kid. With this realization, Tony makes a horrible mistake. *Prequel to Good For Nothing*
1. Chapter 1

H **ey! This is my very first Avengers fan fiction, and it contains fluff. If you read this story please drop a review. The more reviews the more motivation I get to add another chapter and keep it going :) So please leave a review after you read, thanks 3**

After what felt like being out all night as Spiderman, Peter entered his room through the unlocked window. He checked the his phone for the time, which read 3:25 a.m.

It was officially his birthday. Peter Parker was 16, and he couldn't imagine what his Aunt May had prepared for him tomorrow.

She was always the best when it came to his birthday. Every birthday was different, and unpredictable. Peter had learned to stop trying to guess what she would do considering he never came close to getting it right.

Luckily, today was Saturday. Even though it was summer break having your birthday on a weekend is nothing short of a blessing.

After taking off his suit, Peter practically dove into his bed. His eyes felt heavy and the covers pressed against his skin were comforting. He fell asleep faster than you could say 'Spiderman.'

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Peter woke up with sunlight shining on his face. He realized Aunt May must have let him sleep in, considering it was 12:14 p.m. Ready to start the day, he hopped out of bed and changed his clothes.

He left his room and was surprised at what he saw. It wasn't exactly what he was seeing, more like what he didn't see. There was nothing. No cake, banner, presents.

Of all the unpredictable things his aunt did, she almost always had some surprise for him when he woke up. Maybe having nothing was the surprise, and there was something else, he thought.

He went to go to his aunt's room, when he noticed the door was open. Aunt May never slept with the door open. Peter quickly went inside, and found what he was expecting to find in the kitchen, but not the way he thought.

There was a 'Happy Birthday' banner, but it was laying on the bed as if left out to dry. Still no sign of his aunt. He checked the whole apartment, and found nothing. Looking under Aunt May's bed, he found wrapped presents, no doubt hidden from him for his birthday.

Maybe Aunt May had a treasure hunt for him and he had to find a clue? He was trying to convince himself nothing was wrong, but even his spidey senses were off, telling him otherwise.

As if on cue, there was a pounding knock on the door. Peter practically ran to the door, expecting to see Aunt May at the door, screaming 'I got you' in his face and making him feel stupid for ever thinking something was wrong.

That was definitely not what happened.

Peter opened the door, only to find a police officer. He was an average height black man, slightly overweight. The officer had a look of guilt in his face that made Peter's stomach twist.

"Is this the residence of May Parker?" The officer asked.

"Yeah, she's my aunt. Did something happen?" Peter said with worry etched in his voice.

"I'm officer Jayden," He said, lifting his badge to show Peter his 'proof.'

"Kid," the officer said, rubbing the back of his neck before continuing, "Your aunt was uh... found in an ally. She had been shot in the chest... she didn't make it."

Peter couldn't believe what he had just heard. He had to be dreaming, he had to be. At first it didn't register to him how real it was, but soon enough tears were streaming down his eyes. His aunt was gone?

"We believe the motive was robbery as the contents in her purse were all over the ground, but no money in sight," The policeman said, looking down.

"I-I want to see her," Peter said.

"Of course," Jayden said.

He guided Peter to his police car, and drove him to the hospital.

In the car, Peter asked, "What... what time did you find her?"

"It was 1:12 a.m. when wsomeone called about her," The officer said.

1:12 a.m. Peter had been out as Spiderman, and he couldn't even keep his aunt safe. Some friendly neighborhood Spiderman he was.

"Do you know who did it?" Peter asked, hoping they had nailed the guy who took his aunt away from him.

"Not yet," Jayden said, looking over at Peter for a second, "but I guarantee you we're gonna do our absolute best to bring your aunt the justice she deserves."

It was mostly a quiet rest of the car ride, aside from a few more questions Peter had asked. Soon they got to the hospital, and he was led into a room, where he saw what he dreaded seeing, Aunt May's lifeless body.

The tears flooded back, blurring his vision. He sat down next to his aunt, and held her hand, which was ice cold. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Aunt May was supposed to be filling the room with laughter. Instead she wasn't even present.

After a long time of silence, with nothing but his own thoughts to hear, Peter looked up to see a nurse enter the room.

"Hi Peter," she said, with a smile that was filled with sorrow for the teenager, yet also held kindness, "I'm Nurse Rose, but call me Lynn. I'm so sorry for the loss of your aunt."

Lynn walked over to the corner of the room, and picked up a plastic store bag with some items in it. It was the kind of bag you got from a grocery store, but Peter had no clue what was in it.

"When we found your aunt, it she had this bag in her arm. While the contents don't suggest anything to us, we thought it be best to give it to you. Maybe you know why she got these things," Lynn said, and handed Peter the bag.

Peter held it delicately, knowing it was probably one of the last things Aunt May touched. He opened the bag, and yet again tears pricked the corners of his eyes when he saw what was in the bag.

There was vanilla cake mix, and chocolate icing, along with a small pack of gel icing. His favorite. Aunt May must have been out trying to surprise Peter with it for his birthday, before...

Peter couldn't bring himself to finish his thought. He just looked up at the nurse in the room, and mouthed a 'thank you', not being able to speak.

If it wasn't for his birthday, Aunt May would still be talking to him. Instead he was the reason she was gone. He was even out at that exact time, and couldn't save the one he loved most. If Peter had never been born Aunt may would be here.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Lynn said gently, "but you are just a teenager. We found your aunt's phone and called her one emergency contact. They said they would take you in. They'll be here shortly."

Peter just nodded. He figured it must have been one of Ned's parents, no one else would be on Aunt May's emergency list or agree to take him in.

Nurse Lynn left him alone for the last few moments he had with Aunt May. Peter had never cried so much in one day, let alone probably his whole life. He was officially a complete orphan now, no relatives to be his guardian.

"Hey kid," a familiar voice said.

Peter stood up from the position he was sitting next to his aunt, and saw... Tony Stark?

Seeing Peter look so broken hit Tony harder than he thought it would. He could relate to the kid, he lost his parents at a young age too. Though Peter was clearly much closer to Aunt May than Tony ever was to His parents.

Tony walked over to Peter, and did the last thing Peter thought he would do. He hugged him. A tight hug, filled with sorrow and understanding. As weird as it was, it was exactly what Peter needed in that moment, so he just hugged back.

Finally breaking the hug, Tony said, "Happy's out front, we're gonna take you in."

"What about..." Peter looked over at his aunt, and finished the sentence without words.

"It's up to you kid," Tony said, "If you want us to host a um... funeral we'll do that, and you can invite whoever you want. It can be all of New York City or just you and a friend. Your choice."

"Yeah, I don't really wanna think about that today..." Peter said, "before we leave, can I uh... say goodbye?" Peter said shyly.

"Yeah, you got it. I'll be waiting outside the room," Tony said, and shut the door on his way out.

After about 5 minutes, Peter came out with tear stained cheeks.

"Okay... I think I'm ready," Peter said, looking at the ground.

"You sure you're okay? I could make a few more phone calls while I wait if you want more time," Tony asked.

"No, if I go back now I'll never want to leave that room," Peter said, knowing the hurt that would come back too soon to walk into that room again.

"All right, let's go," Tony said as he slung his arm around Peter's shoulder, and guided him outside to the car.

When they got outside, it was pitch black. He hadn't realized so much of the day had gone by so fast.

"What time is it?" Peter asked ask Tony gave Happy the green light to head home.

"8:55," Tony answered.

"8:55 pm!?" Peter asked in surprise. How long had he been in that room?

"Yeah, unless the sky tells you differently," Tony said.

"So how come you picked me up?" Peter asked, not understanding why Tony had shown up to take him.

"I had Happy's number put in your aunt's phone in case anything ever happened," Tony answered.

Peter just mumbled an 'oh.' Tony was probably referring to if anything happened to him not his aunt. He still didn't understand why Tony had come. He'd ask later.

Taking a sip of his water, Tony said, "Tomorrow we're going back to your apartment, you can get all the things you wanna keep. For now you'll have to sleep in those clothes."

Peter just nodded. He hadn't realized how dry his throat felt until now. Or how his stomach was empty and in need of food. Or how heavy his eyelids felt, like he could barely hold them open anymore.

Tony noticed Peter trying to fight sleep, then said, "You need some serious rest kid, just try and sleep right now. We'll wake you up when we get there."

Peter had practically fallen asleep before Tony finished his last sentence, with his head leaning against shoulder. Tony just sighed. The kid had been through a lot in a day. He wasn't so sure if he would be the right person for Peter to lean on at a time like this.

Tony just picked up some paperwork to read on the way back. But taking care of a teenager would be far more work than what he was holding in his hand.

Tony just sipped his water, not knowing what the crazy week ahead had in store for him.


	2. Chapter 2

Peter's eyes opened to complete darkness. He could see himself clear as day but everything else was black. He was wearing his Spiderman suit, without the mask. Suddenly, he heard somebody shouting.

"Help!" Peter heard.

He could hear that voice above any other in a crowd. It was Aunt May. Peter spun in the direction of the cry for help.

He saw Aunt May, being held at gunpoint. The attacker was wearing a ski mask. He was demanding all of Aunt May's money, and he said if she didn't give it to him he would shoot.

Peter wanted to jump to Aunt's Mays aid quick, but he was being held back by something. No matter how hard he tried to move, the only thing that he had control of was his head.

He could move his head, blink, and talk, but every other part of his body felt stuck. Like he had been dipped in superglue. The only thing Peter could do was watch what was happening.

Aunt May immediately took the purse's strap off her shoulder, and gave it to the masked man. He opened it up and took all of her money out of it.

Aunt May turned her head directly towards Peter, saying, "Peter, help me please!"

But no matter how hard he tried, Peter's feet were stuck to the ground. He couldn't get his legs to move, neither that nor any part of his body.

The next things that happened went in slow motion. The man shot Aunt May, and quickly started to run away. At that moment Peter finally was able to move. He rushed to his aunt's side. Blood was everywhere.

Upon reaching her still body, Peter looked for a pulse, only to find none. Aunt May wasn't breathing. Peter started sobbing uncontrollably, as his aunt lay on the floor, all life drained from her.

Then, Aunt May looked at Peter, while she was still bleeding, and said, "You were out as Spiderman when this happened. You basically watched me die."

"Tha—that's not true," Peter said, tears spilling from his eyes.

"You failed me Peter," Aunt May said.

Aunt May kept saying his name over and over again, with each time she said it it got louder and louder. Peter was covering his ears, and screaming, trying to block out the painful sounds.

"PETER"

He jolted awake. It was just a dream, just a dream. Until Peter saw Tony Stark in front of him, with concern in his eyes. Tony was holding onto him with a firm grip. It wasn't a dream. It was reality.

Peter starting tearing up as a flood of memories of the past day were going through his mind. The emptiness he had felt once he saw Aunt May in the hospital came back to him, as he continued to cry.

Not knowing what to say, Tony pulled Peter into a hug. Peter just hugged back, sobbing for what felt like forever. He wished he could go back, redo the day, stay with Aunt May, save her, anything but go through the pain he was feeling now.

Tony pulled out of the hug. He put his hands on Peter's shoulders, and said, "I know its tough. It sucks. You feel like the world is ending and your life is over, but I guarantee you you're gonna get through this. It won't be easy, it never is, but I want you to know that I'm here for you."

"Thanks Mr. Stark, but I-I'm okay," Peter said, trying to convince himself more than Tony.

"No you're not Peter, don't lie about it. You're a bad liar," Tony said, trying to lighten the mood.

His efforts sort of worked, getting a small smile from the teen. Peter had stopped crying. He began rubbing his eyes, ridding his face of tears.

"You uh... wanna talk about it?" Tony asked.

"Huh?" Peter said, not knowing what Tony was talking about.

"Your nightmare? You were screaming and covering your ears," Tony said.

"Oh? Did I wake you up? I'm sorry Mr. Stark, I didn't mean to," Peter said, looking down.

"Don't worry about that. Who needs sleep anyways? It's an hour til I usually wake up so I'll get more work done," Tony said, checking his phone then turning it off.

"What time is it?" Peter asked.

"It's 4:50 a.m. So, uh, about your nightmare?" Tony asked, trying to get Peter to talk about it.

"It's really nothing," Peter said trying to fake a smile as best he could.

Tony didn't buy it though.

"You were screaming loud enough for me to hear in my room. I sleep across the hall," Tony said, pointing behind him at the door, "C'mon kid tell me what happened."

"I just... I can't..." Peter said, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, since it's the first night I won't force anything out of you. But if this persists, don't think I'll take no for an answer again," Tony said with a wink.

"I'll be okay," Peter said.

"That's what we're working towards. You should try and get some sleep, kiddo. I'll wake you up when breakfast is ready, okay?" Tony said, standing up.

Peter nodded, then layed back down. He heard Tony say 'sweet dreams', followed with the sound of the door shutting. Again, he almost instantly fell asleep once his head hit his pillow.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Peter awoke to the sound of his name, looking up to see Tony Stark. It still amazed him Tony took him in, he didn't know why. The guy was super rich and busy, what was an unstable teenager to him?

"Let's go, wakey wakey," Tony said, before pulling the curtains to the side letting light flood the room.

Peter covered his face with a pillow, not wanting the light to burn his eyes any more than it already did.

"Five more minutes," Peter said, pulling the covers back over his body.

"No time for sleep, we've got things to do today," Tony said, yanking the covers off Peter again.

"I made breakfast, hope you like pancakes," Tony said.

"Since when does Tony Stark cook?" Peter asked, finally sitting up as he began to stretch and yawn.

"There are many things I do that the world doesn't know about. For instance, I just so happen to know how to play the piano," Tony said.

"What? When did you learn to play the piano?" Peter asked as he started to make his bed.

"Since I was like 10, took it for 5 or more years and the knowledge kinda just stuck," Tony said with a shrug.

Peter's stomach growled, and Tony asked, "Ready for breakfast now?"

Finishing making his bed, Peter said, "Lead the way."

Peter could have guarenteed they went through at least 5 rooms before getting to the kitchen, and they had to take the elevator to get there.

Sure he had an elevator in his apartment complex but to have one in the same house? That was much different. For any normal town, the Avengers Tower would be a mansion. For New York City? It had to be a palace.

They both sat down and started eating their pancakes. Tony checked a couple of things on his phone, before eating.

"The Avengers are going to be back tomorrow," Tony said as if it was the most normal thing in his life.

"The Avengers?!" Peter questioned, his mouth full of pancakes and a huge look of surprise on his face.

"No talking with your mouth full. It's rude and... doesn't look appealing," Tony said.

"The Avengers are going to come here tomorrow?" Peter asked again, once he had no food in his mouth.

"Yeah, you know, Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Wid-" Tony was cut off by Peter interrupting him.

"No, I know who they are, I mean they're coming here?" Peter asked.

"Uhh, yeah? It is called the Avengers Tower, they live here you know?" Tony said nonchalantly.

"I just thought that was some made up statement, I didn't know they actually live here," Peter said.

"I haven't told them about you yet so you better make a good first impression, just be cool," Tony said.

"Oh yeah, that'll be easy. I'm super cool" Peter said, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't hide the the hint of excitement in his voice.

"Okay," Tony said, rolling his eyes, "There's a change of clothes for you in your room. Put it on cause we're gonna go to your apartment."

Peter practically dashed to his room, remembering exactly where to go. He felt bad that he was so happy considering what happened the day before. Just because he was happy now didn't mean he was close to being able to cope with it.


	3. Chapter 3

Peter jolted awake, sweat covering his body. He had another nightmare. It was only the second night he had been staying here and he had at least 4 nightmares.

Yesterday Peter got the rest of his stuff from the apartment. Going back there sent chills throughout his body, remembering the words spoken to him right at his door.

He got everything that was his, and took some of Aunt May's items he wanted to keep. He still had the presents. They had stayed wrapped. Peter didn't feel it was right to open them without his aunt there.

He admitted he questioned what was in it, but he couldn't muster up the courage to open it, even though it would probably be something he really wanted inside.

Aunt May always knew what to get him.

Peter grabbed a picture frame with a photo in it he had gotten yesterday. It was a picture of him and Aunt May. He held it delicately, as if gripping it too hard would brake it.

His hand brushed over the frame, wiping a small amount of dust off. It was only one day since he lost Aunt May and he had no idea how he could live like this.

He was really tired, but also dreaded the thought of going back to sleep. He just decided he'd stay up on his phone. He'd get out of bed at around 8 am which, once Peter checked the time, realized was 5 hours away.

He was on his phone for maybe 5 minutes before he heard the sound of his door knob turning. Quickly, Peter pulled the covers over his body, put the phone under them, and pretended he was asleep.

"You are horrible at that, you know?" He heard Tony say.

Peter acted as if he hadn't heard anything Tony said, and was still 'sleeping'.

"I literally saw and heard everything Peter," Tony said, crossing his arms.

Peter finally gave in, his eyes locking with Tony's.

"Why are you up?" Peter asked.

"Well let's just say I told F.R.I.D.A.Y. to tell me when you were awake in the middle of the night from what looked like a nightmare. Care to enlighten me on what you dream of?" Tony asked.

"Who's F.R.I.D.A.Y.?" Peter asked.

"Hello, Peter," F.R.I.D.A.Y. said.

Peter looked up from where he heard the sound as if he was expecting to find some person hanging from the ceiling just casually talking to him.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. is an AI. You know how you have Karen in your Spider-Man suit?" Tony asked, getting a nod from Peter, "Well, F.R.I.D.A.Y. is Karen but for the tower."

Peter opened his mouth, about to ask another question, before being cut off from Tony.

"Now stop getting off topic. The longer you wait to tell me about your nightmares the worse it's gonna get. I'd suggest you open up now," Tony said, sitting on the edge of Peter's bed.

Peter sighed. He knew Tony was right, but he also felt embarrassed. He didn't want pity or anything of that sort, nor did he want to talk about his fears. Still, he knew he would have to talk eventually, and Tony was right. The sooner the better.

"It's just," Peter said, before looking down, not wanting to meet Tony's eyes with his own, "I keep dreaming that I could have saved her. I could have prevented this from happening. But I didn't. I could've, but I didn't."

Tony didn't have to ask who 'her' was. He knew Peter was referring to Aunt May. It hurt Tony to see Peter like this, he couldn't imagine what Aunt May would feel like.

"Peter," Tony said with a sigh, "There was nothing you could have done. The worst thing is blaming yourself, because the more you do it the more you believe it really was your fault. Trust me, it wasn't your fault, and you couldn't have stopped it."

"You don't get it though," Peter said, tears forming in his eyes, "I was out when she was ki-"

He didn't want to finish that sentence. Peter looked up at Tony, tears now rolling down his face.

"I was out as Spider-Man. And I didn't save her," Peter said, grabbing a pillow and squeezing it so hard he could still feel his arm press against his body.

"What all did you do when you were out that night?" Tony asked.

"I uhh stopped a gas station robbery and 6 or something muggings," Peter said.

"I know what you're going through is hard, but you were saving other people. You can't be 2 places at once. What if one of the muggings you didn't stop resulted in a murder? You saved other people from having to lose their Aunt May. It just so happens to be that by doing so, you were the one who lost your Aunt May. It sucks, I know, but don't think for a second it was your fault," Tony said.

Peter just nodded. He understood what Tony was saying, and he saw his point. He just wondered why him. Why did he have to lose the only person he had left.

"C'mere," Tony said, pulling Peter into a hug, which he gratefully accepted.

Tony Stark was never the hugging type, but when it came to Peter Parker he would do anything in this moment to make him feel better. He had to admit, he had a soft spot for the kid.

"Besides, it's harder cause of what you've already been through. You're young too, a 15 year old having to deal with this is pretty crazy," Tony said, patting Peter's shoulder.

"I'm actually 16 now," Peter said, rubbing his eyes.

"What?! When was your birthday?" Tony asked.

"Saturday," Peter said casually.

Tony couldn't imagine the day Peter had when his aunt died, but knowing it was his birthday probably made the day 10 times worse. Then a thought hit Tony.

"So you haven't celebrated?" Tony asked.

Peter shook his head.

"Well then, what do you want to do tomorrow? Or technically today. We can go back to sleep and do whatever your heart desires," Tony asked.

For as rich and busy as Tony was, Peter didn't understand how he seemed to have so much free time on his hands.

"I uhh... That's okay Mr. Stark, I'm sure you've got plans tomorrow and I don't want to be a burden or anything," Peter said.

"You are not a burden. I have one meeting tomorrow, but its an online group chat that goes on for about 3 hours and it insanely boring. Saying something came up wouldn't be a lie and would be much better. If anything we both benefit," Tony said with a wink.

"If you insist..." Peter said, still unsure if it was a good idea.

"I do. Now, what do you want to do?" Tony asked.

"Well..."

O-O-O-O-O-O

Peter's alarm had been going off, and it was probably the fifth time he hit the snooze button. He finally didn't have a bad dream the past couple of hours, and this beeping machine was trying to take it away from him.

"Peter, I am informed by my creator to make sure you get out of bed this time," Peter heard someone say.

He then remembered the conversation he had with Tony last night and recognized the voice of the AI known as F.R.I.D.A.Y.

"Tell him I'll be down in 10."

Teeth brushed and clothes changed, Peter headed down towards the kitchen. In the elevator, he questioned if F.R.I.D.A.Y. was in every room of the tower, including the elevator.

Curious, he said, "F.R.I.D.A.Y.?"

"Yes, Peter?" The AI responded almost instantly.

"Can you hear me in any room of this place?" Peter asked.

"Yes sir, why do you ask?" F.R.I.D.A.Y. Responded.

"Just wondering," Peter said.

Peter met Tony in the kitchen, and they ate breakfast. They talked about small things, and later left to do what Peter requested when asked what he wanted to do for his birthday.

Peter held a gun in his hand. He held it up, aimed at his target. Peter took his time to hit the best spot he could. Feeling satisfied with his aim, he pulled the trigger.

"10 points! I extend my lead, 38 to 22," Peter said, hitting an empty can off of a fence.

"Have I ever mentioned how I hate shooting? Of all the things you wanted to do it would be this, right?" Tony said, shooting at the can and missing his target.

"How do you aim in your Iron Man suit?" Peter asked.

"Well that's different. I have built in sensors that lock the target down, which are normally bigger than tiny cans," Tony said sarcastically, "I basically get told where to shoot."

"I don't have that with my webs," Peter said.

"Probably why your aim is better. Have you thought about adding guns to Spider-Man or something?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? Nah. I mean I've thought about it, yeah, but I haven't actually considered doing it. I like how it is now," Peter answered.

"Smart choice," Tony said.

Hearing a ringing sound of a phone call, Tony pulled out his phone.

"I gotta take this, you keep shooting. Remember, you don't get any points when I'm not here," Tony said as he started walking away to answer the call.

"Maybe," Peter whispered under his breath.

Tony had gotten a lot of calls today. Peter assumed it was because of the meeting Tony dropped out of. He felt bad that Tony canceled things for him.

Of course he was happy to be spending time with him, but he didn't want Tony to go out of his way just for him. He wished things never changed.

Tony came back, no longer on the phone.

"Bad news, the rest of the Avengers won't be back until tomorrow. There was a delay in the transportation or whatever, Hawkeye is annoying to talk to on the phone," Tony said.

"You mean I have to wait another day to see the avengers?" Peter whined.

"Watch yourself, you're talking to one. Am I not good enough?" Tony questioned.

"No, absolutely not. You're great," Peter said, truth shining in every word he spoke.

"Hey, it's getting late," Tony said as he checked his watch, "How bout we head back?"

Shooting one last bullet and hitting the can, again, Peter said, "Sounds good."

They started walking back towards the car.

When they got to the car, Peter said, "Hey Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah?" Tony replied.

"Thanks, for uh... doing this. I had a lot of fun," Peter said, a smile on his face.

Tony returned Peter's smile with his own "No problem kid. Oh and by the way," Tony said, opening the car door for Peter, "Call me Tony."


	4. Chapter 4

The drive back to the tower was less awkward than Peter thought it would be. Even Happy was included in the conversations and making jokes himself, which Peter thought was unlike him but didn't say anything about it.

If you were listening to how much laughter Peter had on the way back, you would have never guessed all that he had gone through a couple days ago. Soon enough they got back to the tower, and made their way to the family room/kitchen space.

They hadn't eaten since breakfast. The elevator ride up proved that to be a fact as the only thing breaking the silence was the sound of their stomachs growling for food.

When the elevator doors opened, Peter was the first one out. He made a beeline for the kitchen, Tony practically at his heels.

Peter was shocked at what he saw when he arrived at the kitchen. There was a banner, with 'Happy Birthday' painted on it, giving him flashbacks to the one he saw in Aunt May's room.

"What's th-"

"SURPRISE!" Shouted people who came out from hiding spots, as balloons fell from the ceiling and confetti seemed to be everywhere.

It didn't take long for Peter to realize those people were, in fact, _the_ Avengers.

Peter just looked at Tony, not knowing what to say or do.

"This is for me?" Peter asked, still unsure of what words to use.

"No actually its my birthday today and this was for me," Tony said.

"Ohhhh," Peter said.

"Yes, Peter, it's for you," Tony said, rolling his eyes, "Now, I believe you haven't been properly introduced to the Avengers, have you?"

"Only one," Peter said with a smirk.

"That's Steve, aka Captain America. That's Bruce, aka the Hulk. That's Natasha, aka Black widow. And that's Clint, aka Hawkeye," Tony said, each Avenger shaking Peter's hand when their name was called.

"Save the best for last, I see?" Clint said to Tony while he shook Peter's hand.

"Yes, I am," Tony said, getting a smile mixed with a shocked look from Clint, before continuing, "Guys, this is Peter."

Clint's smile dropped, realizing Tony was referring to Peter.

"So, you're Spider-Man, huh?" Steve said.

"You know?" Peter said, a hint of worry in his eyes as he looked at Tony.

"Relax kiddo, you know our identities, it's only fair we know yours," Clint said.

"Oh, yeah," Peter said.

There was a moment of silence that no one dared to break, so for at least 3 minutes nobody moved or made a sound.

"Well, how about we sing happy birthday?" Tony said, finally ending the painful silence.

"I'll get the cake," Clint said.

Seconds later, Clint came back with a cake in his hands. It was white, with red and blue icing on the sides. Peter laughed when he saw the top of the cake.

It was a printed on image of Spider-Man, web slinging with one hand and the other shooting another web that said 'Happy Birthday'.

Everybody sang while Peter just stood there awkwardly, smiling but not fully, waiting to blow out the candles. He wished Aunt May would come back, but knew that would never happen.

The next hours were pretty casual. Peter got to talk to each Avenger, and he got to know a couple of things about them.

Like how Natasha always looked like she wanted to slice your throat. Or how Hawkeye made jokes so bad you couldn't help but laugh at them. How Steve was an overall chill person. And how Bruce was a nerdy kinda guy, but Peter was too so they got along pretty well.

Peter was surprised how nonchalantly he was talking to the Avengers, like it was a normal day. Soon it would be, but as of now it wasn't. On the inside he was totally freaking out, each time anybody said anything to him.

Tony came over to Peter and said, "Time to catch your Z's, kid. It's past your bedtime."

"Seriously?" Peter asked, giving slight head nods to the other people in the room.

"Trust me, you'll get annoyed with them soon. Besides they shouldn't go anywhere anytime soon so you'll have a lot more time to talk to them," Tony said, "Bed, now."

"Get annoyed? Yeah right," Peter said, going on to say goodnight to everyone and then leaving for his room.

"So, was the threat harder than we predicted?" Tony asked once Peter left.

"Worse," Clint said.

"There was nothing there," Natasha said.

"What?" Tony said, but he couldn't help hiding the smirk that appeared on his face, "So you flew over 48 hours for nothing?"

"No, no, no, no. We needed more gas so we stopped for some, only to find out the jet needed something fixed, and ended up stuck at that place for at least 8 miserable hours," Steve said.

"Glad I didn't go," Tony said with a small chuckle, earning death glares from everyone.

"Well what did you guys think of Peter?"

"He's a pretty nice kid," Steve said.

"Not that I don't like him or anything, but what's he doin' here?" Clint asked.

"That's what I wanted to bring up. There's a couple things you guys should know about Peter," Tony said.

"So um... 2 days ago his aunt was found dead in an ally. She was shot from somebody that robbed her. I had Happy's number put in as an emergency contact for Peter's aunt's phone in case something happened. Happy got a call and they asked if we would take the kid in," Tony said.

"No offense, but are you the right person to be there for him, emotionally?" Bruce asked.

"Well I think I can relate from losing my parents at a young age. I wouldn't say that I know what to tell him to do, but rather what not to do. I made a lot of mistakes and if I can help Peter from making the same ones I think it's worth a shot," Tony said.

"That's deep," Clint said.

The room went dead silent. Nobody talked for at least 5 minutes, before Clint said something.

"So uhh, anyone wanna hear a joke? What's so fragile that saying it's name breaks it?" He asked.

Earning 'get this over with' looks, Clint continued.

"Silence, get it? Cause it was just silent and that's awkward and... yeah," He said.

"You know Clint, the government could really use you. If they needed people to confess to murdering someone or something like that, the could bring you in and you could tell some of your horrible jokes. They'd talk in seconds," Tony said.

"You son of a-" Clint was cut off.

"Another thing, there is to be no cussing around Peter. Try and set a good example, okay?" Tony said, looking Clint dead in the eyes.

"As you wish, my lord," Clint said sarcastically.


	5. Chapter 5

Beep Beep Beep.

That was the sound Peter woke up to. F.R.I.D.A.Y. was playing it to get him out of bed. He turned his phone on to check the time. It read 6:01 a.m. Why was he being woken up so early?

"Snooze," Peter said, shoving a pillow over his had and trying to block out the sound.

"I do not have a snooze option," F.R.I.D.A.Y. said.

"Well you need one," Peter said, finally getting out of bed so that the horrible sound ringing in his ears would stop.

He got on his phone, seeing missed texts from multiple people. He hadn't talked to anyone since Aunt May's death.

He felt guilty especially seeing his best friend Ned continually sending texts, each one containing more worry than the one before. He'd tell him in person, but right now he wasn't ready to see him yet.

With his eyes half opened Peter began getting dressed, not looking at the clothes he was putting on. He brushed his hair and teeth before making his way to the kitchen.

By the time he was in the elevator, he was finally awake. On the way down, he looked at the blurry reflection of himself. His eyes drifted to his clothes, and widened once he saw what he was wearing.

There was nothing wrong with his pants, but he hadn't realized the shirt he wore until now. It was blue, and in the middle was the Captain America logo.

On a normal day that would be fine, but considering he now lived with the Avengers, which included Captain America, he might look weird.

 _I'll just go back up and change_ , Peter thought.

The elevator doors opened, and before they could close for him to go back up he had already been noticed.

"Peter, right? Come on over and join us. We've got bae over here," Clint said.

He couldn't really just go up now, and before he knew it his feet were taking him to the kitchen.

"Oh my gosh Clint, just say bacon and eggs," Peter heard Tony say.

"That's boring," Clint said.

Of course the only spot left for Peter to sit at was right next to the Captain America himself. Peter just swallowed his pride and went over to sit down, hoping the shirt wouldn't be noticed.

The first thing Steve's eyes looked at was the shirt though, and he held back a laugh, not wanting to make Peter uncomfortable.

"Nice shirt," Steve said.

Peter just looked down and blushed. He never felt so awkward in his life.

"Woah woah woah woah, what is this?" Clint said, pointing towards Peter, making him blush deeper.

"I um, wasn't looking at what I was putting on," Peter said.

"You got a shirt with me on it?" Clint asked.

"Um, no. Only this one," Peter said.

"Well I am offended. I guess I have to throw away my Spider-Man shirt now," Clint said crossing his arms.

Suddenly there was some type of alarm Peter never heard.

"What's that?" Peter asked, glad to change the subject.

"There is an attack on New York City," F.R.I.D.A.Y. said.

Everybody quickly got up to get ready to save the day, while Peter had no clue what to do.

"Hey, can I come?" Peter asked to nobody in particular.

"Yeah sure, you're Spider-Man why not," Clint said before leaving the room.

Peter was about to go get ready himself before he heard Tony speak.

"No, you will not go," Tony said.

"What? Why not?" Peter asked.

"You are staying here, understood?" Tony said strictly.

"But I-"

"No buts," Tony said before running out of the room.

"Unbelievable," Peter said to himself.

 _He gets to go and I don't? What is this? Who is He to say to me I can't go?_ Peter thought.

Defeated, he just went back to his room. He saw the fight on the news, the Avengers won, obviously. It wasn't a huge threat anyways but Peter still wanted to help.

He looked around his room, his eyes stopping when they saw his Spider-Man suit. Clearly Tony wasn't going to let him go anytime soon, so he'd have to do it without telling him.

He didn't want to do it in the day, most of the action happened at night. Peter made a plan to sneak out at night, not aware of the danger that lied ahead.

Peters eyes looked back and forth from his suit to the clock. He told himself he'd go out around 2 am, but it was already 1:17 am and he couldn't wait any longer.

He hopped out of bed and picked up his suit. He put it on and got ready to head out. He quietly opened the window and snuck out.

The cool breeze was chilling yet relaxing. Peter hadn't even been out for more than five minutes before getting an alert from Karen.

"Incoming call from Tony Stark," Karen said.

Peter knew he would have to answer. Of course the fun police had to come before the party even started. Sighing, he sat at the top of a building before answering.

"Heyyy," Peter said uncomfortably.

"Where are you?" Tony said on the other end. You could hear the mixture of anger and worry in his voice.

"I'm uh, out. I'm just doing what I normally do and being Spider-Man," Peter said.

"I thought I told you you weren't supposed to do that," Tony said.

"You never said that, you only said I couldn't go with you earlier today. You didn't specifically say I couldn't be Spider-Man. What's the big deal anyways? I do it all the time," Peter said.

"The big deal is I told you not to. At least not yet," Tony said.

Peter scoffed, "What are you, my dad?"

"The closest thing you've got to it. Get back here now. Don't think there won't be punishments," Tony said.

 _Why is he being like this?_ Peter thought. He wanted to say no so badly, but he already sounded like he was in big trouble. He just mumbled am "okay" and ended the call.

He felt one last breeze blow against his body, and was about to get up, before his spidey senses went off like crazy. Before he knew it, he fell to the ground and blacked out.

 **This chapter sucked, sorry. I'm hoping to get some better ones out and sooner than usual. Have a good day!**


	6. Chapter 6

Peter's eyes slowly blinked open, only to be met by a blinding light. Where was he? He had no clue. His whole body ached, and he was laying down.

His first instinct was to move, but when he tried to get up he realized something was holding him back. He looked down to see he was strapped down, and wearing some new clothes.

His wrists, stomach, arms, legs and ankles were all securely strapped down, so tight Peter was sure he would bruise.

He looked around the room. A table with a lot of things Peter couldn't identify was in the room. There were no windows or any form of light except for the one in his face. The only way out was a big metal door, that looked like it weighed hundreds of pounds.

Peter tried to retrace what happened, and the last thing he could remember was going out. Soon his memory led him to the phone call, up until he blacked out.

Great, he was kidnapped. Clearly by some lunatic. Who straps down a kid?

That's when the realization hit him. Whoever had him knew he was Spider-Man. What the person could do with that information, Peter didn't really know.

Peter's spidey senses went off, and the big metal door opened. Somebody who Peter couldn't identify walked in, laughing just like a maniac would.

"I see my star patient has awakened," The man said.

The man looked like he was in his mid 40's, average height and weight, and was white. He wore goggles and gloves like some creepy scientist.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" Peter said, trying to sound 'scary' but failing. His voice cracked and was extremely dry.

Again the man laughed.

"Names mean nothing, but you should know mine. I am Reed Howells," The creepy man said.

Howells. That name sounded familiar to Peter, but not enough to remember anything from it.

"What do you want?" Peter said, trying to break free from the straps holding him down.

"That is a long story. First, how about a couple of experiments before the talking begins?" Howells said.

Before Peter could say anything Howells stabbed a syringe into his arm and injected some sort of serum. At first Peter didn't feel any pain, but within a couple of minutes his body felt like it was on fire.

Peter squirmed like a fish out of water, wanting something, anything, to stop the pain coursing through his veins.

"You like that, I made it myself. I shoot it into your bloodstream and it attaches to as many cells as it can. The reaction with the cells result in a fire like feeling, causing you to feel like you are swimming in lava," Howells said.

"I would love to see you in pain some more, but I really am a get to the point person," Howells said, injecting another serum back into Peter's bloodstream.

Within seconds the pain was starting to go away, and Peter felt like he could breathe again.

"Again, made it myself. Just a reverse serum for the first one I gave you. Now for the back story," Howells said, pulling a chair over and sitting on it, "oh, I would offer you a seat, but you seem comfortable already," he said, laughing again.

"Is there some sort of laughing gas in here that I'm immune to?" Peter asked.

"I'd watch that tongue if I were you. Considering what you just experienced I'm rather surprised you would dare to upset me again," Howells said.

"You don't scare me," Peter said.

"How cute. Now, getting back to why you're here. Listen closely," Howells said.

"It all started, on a beautiful day in June. There was an attack on the city, and who came to save the day? You of course. I don't remember all the details, but when you're in the zone you seem to forget about the things, _or people_ , around you.

"While fighting your enemy, you were knocked into a parked car, which spun into traffic. Casually you went back to fighting, but the car you were thrown into did some damage.

"My daughter was on the streets of New York that day. When that car you were thrown at went into traffic, people driving did their best to avoid hitting it. A taxi swerved out of the way, and straight at my daughter.

"She didn't make it," Howells said, looking down.

That's where Peter remembered the name Howells. Peter was in his room watching the news when he heard about the girl's death.

"Look, I'm so sorry that happened, but I didn't mean at all to do that," Peter said.

"Whether it was intentional or not, it happened. She was all I had left, and you took her from me," Howells said.

"No I-"

"Quiet," Howells said, interrupting Peter, "After that, I made it my sole purpose to get back at you. I watched you constantly, and one day I finally saw it. You arguing with the Tony Stark, without your mask.

"It was after the boat incident, and though you may have thought no one was looking, I was. I found information about you, and once I even saw you climb into a building window, which I assumed was where you lived.

"All I had to do was confirm it. It took some time, but I finally figured out the floor and room you were on based off of which window you entered. I waited around the hall for you to eventually come out so I could confirm it was you.

"About a couple of days later, you walked out. With somebody else. I figured it was your mother, but heard you refer to her as your aunt. You know what they say, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a loved one for a loved one," Howells said with an evil smile that would scare the devil himself.

Peter put 2 and 2 together, and knew exactly what was coming next.

"I waited for your aunt to go out alone. And boy do I mean waited. I thought she'd never leave, until one night she did. It was some time in the a.m. she left. I followed her subtly to a shop.

"She went inside and about 15 minutes later came out with some bags. That's when I pulled her into an alley, and shot her. Of course this is New York, so I took all of her money to make it seem like it was a robbery.

"You took away the one person who meant the world to me, so I did the same for you," Howells said.

Peter had tears streaming down his cheeks. He was face to face with Aunt May's murderer, and he couldn't strangle him with his bare hands.

"Then why am I even here?" Peter asked.

If they were 'even' then this guy shouldn't have even taken me, and should've let me go.

"Well, I admit I got back at you, but I realized something else. I couldn't simply stop there. I wanted the world to know what happened, and to avenge my daughter.

"You will either tell me how you got your powers, or you will die," Howells said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Peter said.

"Don't act so naive," Howells said, standing up.

He went over to the table and picked up a hammer.

"You see, I wanted to put some marks on you in case you were to get out alive. I later came back to see they were healing extraordinarily quickly. But that wasn't the most surprising thing I discovered," Howells said.

He lifted the hammer, and was about to strike Peter before he stopped not even half an inch from hitting the skin.

Peter's body hairs had stuck up and his whole body went stiff.

"Marvelous," Howells said.

"It seems you have some sort of 6th sense alerting you when something involving pain is about to happen. What is this and how did it happen?" Howells asked.

"I'm not telling you anything," Peter said.

"Oh but you will. Your new friends you live with, the Avengers, I believe they're called, right?" Howells said with a chuckle.

The color in Peter's face drained. How did this guys know he lived at the Avenger's tower?

"How did you-"

"Please, Tony Stark's whole life is practically on video," Howells said, interrupting Peter.

"So what does that even mean? Yeah I live with them. You don't gain anything from knowing that," Peter said.

"Oh, but I do. I'm sure they'll come looking for you. Once I have at least one of them, I'll threaten to torture that person unless you tell me how you got your powers. I assume you won't tell me no matter what I do to you. That doesn't mean I'll still try, but it is a good backup," Howells said.

He was right. Peter would never give in no matter how much torture he endured, but someone else? An Avenger? He would cave within seconds.

"Now, let's wait for them to arrive, shall we? In the mean time, I have a few more, _tests_ , shall we call it, to try on you. Feel free to tell me what I want to hear whenever," Howells said.

"What do you want to hear, the truth?" Peter said.

"Of course," Howells said.

"Fine, I'll give you the truth. You're a crazy lonely man whose only excuse to hurt a kid and his family is because his daughter died and it wasn't even my fault. I'm sorry, did I say crazy lonely man? I should change that, you're nothing close to a man," Peter said.

"You're gonna regret that," Howells said, grabbing a handful of tools from his table.

He turned around, all sorts of things that were sure to draw blood in his hands.

"Let's begin, shall we?" Howells said.

The only sound filling the room was Peter's screams.

Tony sat on his bed, checking the time. It had been almost 20 minutes since he called Peter and he still wasn't back.

The door to his room opened, and Tony turned around saying, "You're in big trouble, mister. What do you think you were doin-"

"Easy tiger," Clint said, cutting Tony off.

"I thought you were Peter, sorry. What are you doing up?" Tony asked.

"Dude, I've got like killer senses. I could tell something was off. Why were you mad when I came in, what did Peter do?" Clint asked.

"He um, he's not here. He went out to be Spider-Man and stuff, after I specifically told him not to. I mean he only had to obey one thing, is it really that hard to-"

"Tony, relax," Clint said, interrupting Tony again.

"Clint you interrupt me one more time and that won't happen. Peter should be back by now," Tony said.

"Or maybe he isn't coming back," Clint said.

Tony's eyes went wide, assuming the worst.

"Woah, didn't mean it like that. I mean maybe the kid needs a break from everything that's been going on recently, and being Spider-Man is his only distraction," Clint said.

"But, he would've said something," Tony said.

"Chill out, he's been here for what, a week? You two may have gotten closer but he still needs his space," Clint said.

"And I'm doing something to prevent that?" Tony asked.

"That's not what I said, nor is it what I meant. Coming from me, you're watching him like a hawk. No pun intended," Clint said.

Tony rolled his eyes in response.

"Seriously, I think you should just let him be for tonight. If he comes back, great. If he's still out being Spider-Man let him," Clint said.

"Wow, that's the first time you actually said something pretty smart. Thanks Clint," Tony said.

"No problem. Now, I gotta get back to counting sheep. Night," Clint said.

"Goodnight, Clint," Tony said, shutting the door after Clint left.

Tony decided to listen to the advice given to him. He laid back down on his bed, and drifted off to sleep.

"Tony"

"Wake up"

"TONY"

"What?!" Tony said, opening his eyes to see all of the Avengers in his room.

"It's uh, it's Peter," Bruce said.

Tony was wide awake now.

"What about Peter?" Tony asked.

"He's not here"


	7. Chapter 7

"What do you mean Peter isn't here?" A now fully awake Tony Stark said, pushing the covers off of him and getting out of bed.

"Exactly that. The kid's not here," Natasha said.

Tony just left his room, speed walking towards the lab with the rest of the Avengers following.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked.

"I put a tracker in Peter's suit. Hopefully we can find out where he is," Tony said, pounding his fingers across a keyboard.

"Bingo," Tony said.

The rest of the team looked at the screen to see a map with a blinking red light, most likely indicating Peter's location.

"It's not far, I'll set the coordinates in the jet for you guys," Tony said.

He typed for another couple of seconds, then proceeded to leave the room.

"You guys? What are you gonna be doing?" Clint asked.

"I'm taking my suit. I'll meet you guys there," Tony said, then left.

 **O-O-O**

Tony arrived at the place where Peter, or should he say Peter's suit, was. He beat the rest of the team. He wanted to wait for them, but the idea that something bad could be happening to Peter changed his mind.

He went through a window, shattering it. If somebody was here and didn't know anybody else was with them, they do now.

Tony went through the halls, looking for Peter. Finally he was just outside the room where the tracker in the suit was. He put his ear to the door, and the sound of silence was the only thing he could hear.

He put his hand on the door, only to realize it was strangely unlocked. Slowly, Tony turned the knob, preparing himself for almost anything.

What he saw was not what he expected, though. There was another metal door. No handle. Just a block of metal was what it looked like.

Before Tony could start lasering through the door, the rest of the Avengers showed up behind him.

"Glad you could all make it in time," Tony said as he started to laser into the wall.

"Didn't know a jet could be so slow," Clint said.

After what felt like years to Tony, the hole was complete. He pushed it and it fell with a bang. Everyone went in the dark room. It smelled horrible.

Even with the light shining from the halls, it was still hard to see. Tony turned on a light on his suit, and the sight that met their eyes was something none of them were prepared for.

Peter's body was laying on some sort of torture table. He was basically glued to the table, the straps digging into his skin.

He was covered in cuts, burns and bruises. His face was beaten so badly you almost couldn't recognize him. He had two black eyes, and from what Tony could see it looked like he had a couple of broken bones.

And those were only visible on the outside.

Tony would have thought he was dead, but the very slow rise and fall of Peter's chest told him otherwise.

"We gotta get him outta here, fast," Steve said.

"Forget Captain America, I think we should change your name to Captain Obvious," Tony said, moving towards Peter.

They broke the restraints holding Peter down and Tony slung him over his shoulder, making sure to be careful with his body.

Just as they were about to leave, Howells stepped in the dark room, laughing.

"Leaving so soon are we?" Howells said, laughing.

"What the heck have you done to him?" Clint said to the man, motioning towards peter.

"Oh, just a few tests. I'm not done by the way. If you don't mind I need to finish up some more of my studies," Howells said.

"You're gonna have to get through us first," Tony said, blasters ready.

"Oh Mr. Stark, are you volunteering yourself? I appreciate the noble act, but your friend here... He's something special," Howells said with a hideous smirk.

"You're welcome to stay and watch though," Howells said.

The entire team boiled over at those words, and got ready to fight. They all engaged in combat, but somehow Howells dodged every move.

Howells pulled something out of his lab coat. When the light hit it right, there was a small glint to it, but it wasn't a knife. It was a syringe.

He dodged Clint's attack, and even though Clint was known for his hawk senses, he wasn't prepared for Howells to stick the syringe into his arm, pushing the contents into his bloodstream.

Almost immediately, Clint fell to the ground, barely conscious.

"The... heck was that... s-son of a..." Clint said, before passing out.

The team's eyes widened in surprise. Natasha rushed over to Clint, pressing her fingers on his wrist checking to see if he was okay.

"What did you do to him?" Natasha asked. Clint was out cold, but his pulse felt normal.

"Nothing to worry about, dear. I simply knocked him out, long enough for me to take down the rest of you," Howells said, pulling out another syringe.

"That's not gonna happen," Steve said.

He took a step towards Howells and threw his shield at him. Howells dodged it with ease and slowly moved closer to Steve.

Howells pulled something out of his pocket, this time it wasn't a syringe.

' _How many things does this guy keep in his pockets?_ ' Steve wondered.

But before he could figure out what it was, Howells threw it at the ground right by Steve's feet. It exploded and a liquid came oozing out of it, making Steve lose his balance and hit the ground hard.

Howells took the advantage he had over Steve and plunged the syringe into his arm, immediately injecting the contents into his blood stream.

Steve reacted almost exactly the way Clint did, and within 2 seconds had lost consciousness.

"All right, I think we've given him enough hope, wouldn't you guys agree?" Tony said to Natasha and Bruce.

"All the way," Bruce said before transforming into the hulk.

Three against one would seem like a predictable fight, but Howells was unpredictable.

They all fought against him together, and after about three minutes had finally gained the much needed upper hand.

Howells was frozen. Not just because if he moved he might get shot my Tony's blaster, which was pointed at him, or even have his throat sliced by Natasha's dangerously close blade.

The reason he couldn't move was because Hulk had a very firm grip on him, leaving no room to even squirm.

They tied Howells up tight, and handed him over to the police who had just arrived. Tony's attention immediately went back to Peter, who was unconscious and slumped against a wall.

Tony went to pick him up, and noticed that several wounds had reopened, leaving Peter to bleed yet again.

"I'll take the kid, you guys get them," Tony said, giving a head nod towards Clint and Steve.

Tony tried to be as quick as he could and get Peter back to the tower, where he could fix him up. Those last three words made Tony cringe. Peter shouldn't need fixing.

It wasn't until they arrived back at the tower that Tony had noticed how badly Peter had actually been bleeding.

Peter looked even paler than when they had found him, if that was possible.

Tony cursed at himself for not noticing how bad the bleeding had gotten. Bruce entered the medical room, ready to get to work.

"He looks like he got hit by a bus. About 10 times," Bruce said, putting gloves on.

Bruce stopped in his tracks, his eyes noticing the blood on the floor.

"Has Peter been bleeding this whole time?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah. His wounds reopened," Tony said, running a hand through his hair.

"Jesus Tony, is he alive?" Bruce asked, looking over Peter's injuries.

"Well, yeah-" Tony said, putting his hand over his mouth, "I mean, he was breathing and had a pulse back at that place."

"You didn't check again?!" Bruce said, putting his hand to Peter's wrist while continuing, "That was then, this is now. The kid's already roughed up, losing more blood could-"

Bruce stopped.

He pressed his fingers against Peter's neck, looking for any sign of life. Again, Bruce pressed Peter's wrists, hoping he missed the spot. Nothing.

"What? What's going on?" Tony asked, taking Peter's wrist into his own hand as well.

Bruce put his ear to Peter's chest and pulled back. His eyes met with Tony's.

"Peter's not breathing Tony, h-he has no pulse."

 **X**

 **X**

 **X**

 **So I've decided to finish this :O**


	8. Chapter 8

When Bruce said that Peter didn't have a pulse, Tony quickly put him on the medical bed and got to work, as did Bruce.

They probably worked the fastest they've ever worked in their lives. Bruce was attaching wires where it was needed, injecting all kinds of serums into Peter's body, even some that Tony had no idea what they were for.

Again, Tony picked up Peter's limp arm and felt for a pulse.

"Bruce, h-he's still-"

"I know Tones," Bruce said, trying to stay as calm as possible, knowing Peter still didn't have a pulse. He hooked up the heart monitor, and to Tony's dismay it stayed at a constant, annoying, loud beep.

After another 30 seconds of Bruce moving his hands so fast that Tony almost got dizzy watching everything he was doing, he stopped and pressed his fingers to Peter's neck.

Upon still feeling nothing, Bruce cursed under his breath.

"What's going on?" Tony asked desperately.

"There's still nothing," Bruce said, sighing and clenching his fists against the metal bar on the hospital bed, "We need to do CPR."

"CPR? Peter has a couple of broken ribs no doubt, wouldn't doing CPR risk puncturing an organ or something?" Tony asked.

"It sounds common, but it actually isn't. And in most cases, a rib gets broken in the process," Bruce said.

Tony looked at Peter, then back at Bruce, "What are we waiting for then?"

Immediately Bruce began chest compressions. He was mentally counting in his head how many he was doing.

After Bruce had finished with the chest compressions, he moved on to the mouth-to-mouth part. He tilted Peter's head back, pinched his nose, and began to breathe his own air into Peter's lifeless body.

When Peter's pulse was still gone, Bruce repeated the process. Twice.

"I don't think it's helping," Bruce said, covering his mouth with his hand.

"What about the defibrillators?" Tony asked, and frantically started looking for them.

"It's our last hope," Bruce said.

"Here," Tony said, practically shoving the machine into Bruce's chest the second he found it.

Bruce quickly turned on the AED (automated external defibrillator). He cut up the already torn bloodied shirt Peter was wearing and pulled it off, careful not to tear any sort of scabs.

Bruce peeled off the ends and applied the pads from the AED to Peter's chest. Making sure he and Tony were a safe distance from Peter's body, Bruce then pressed the analyze button.

"All right, stand clear," Bruce said, after seeing the AED advise shocking Peter.

Bruce pusher the button, and Peter's body lifted off the ground for the shortest amount of time.

Immediately Bruce began to give chest compressions again, and followed up with mouth-to-mouth.

He picked up Peter's arm and felt for a pulse, hoping the heart monitor was somehow not working and Peter really was alive.

Nothing.

Bruce swore.

Tony just watched, unaware of what to do. He wanted to help but right now there was nothing he could do.

Bruce went back to the device, analyzing Peter's heart rhythm and being prompted to shock him again.

He pressed the button, making Peters body jolt once more. He pressed his palms to the center of Peter's chest and began performing CPR.

Bruce was starting to give up hope, but continued pushing against Peter's chest. Again he did mouth-to-mouth, but still the heart monitor remained at a constant, annoying beep.

Bruce was about to try one last time with the AED, before hearing a big intake of breath and seeing Peter's chest rise in sync.

The heart monitor started beeping at a slow rate, but Peter was alive.

Both Tony and Bruce sighed, sweat dripping from both of their faces. Bruce from how hard he had been working, and Tony mainly from how scared he was.

How did he get so attached to this kid?

"We did it," Tony heard Bruce say.

"We? That was all you," Tony said.

"I couldn't have done it without you," Bruce said.

"I'm just glad it's over with," Tony said.

"Not even close. Just cause he's alive doesn't mean he's... alive. We still have to patch up his wounds, and even then there isn't a guarantee he'll wake up," Bruce said.

"Well you're mister optimistic," Tony said.

Bruce sighed, "Sorry, Tony. Just... don't get your hopes up all the way. I'd rather you expect the worst and be surprised than expect the best and be disappointed."

"The kid's a fighter, there's nothing to be worried about," Tony said.

"We better get to work," Bruce said.

"Yeah, we should," Tony said, grabbing the medical supplies and beginning to wrap up Peter's wounds.

 **O-O-O**

After around an hour of both Tony and Bruce working on fixing up Peter, they finally finished. Most of his wounds were cleaned. Although he hadn't been gone for long, some deep cuts had gotten infected. The science bros fixed it in no time though, and now all they had to do was wait.

Bruce headed up for bed, suggesting to Tony that he get some rest himself. Tony nodded his head, but in his mind he already knew he wouldn't leave Peter's side.

Bruce knew that though, and just hoped Tony would at least take decent care of himself. For now though, he was too tired to worry.

Tony sighed, and sunk into the chair next to Peter's bed after Bruce left.

So he wasn't delusional.

Peter really was alive. And he was going to make it, Tony was sure of it.

 **X**

 **X**

 **X**

 **I updated this chapter, because someone reviewed it saying how I made Tony and Bruce look stupid. I honestly agree though.**

 **I had been wanting to redo it, but didn't really find the motivation. After getting that review I decided to do my best research and hope to fit the CPR and AED as accurately as I could.**

 **Still not sure if this is accurate, but hopefully it's close. To the person who reviewed it, thanks for giving me the push I needed to fix myself :)**


	9. Chapter 9

It had been a week and a half since the Avengers had found Peter. Though it felt like years for Tony.

Peter had taken some blows to the head, giving Bruce no other choice but to put him into a medically induced coma. Peter's body has been responding well, and thanks to his abilities the wounds have been healing very quickly.

Still, Peter had yet to wake up.

The rest of the team woke up within an hour of being brought back. Bruce figured that whatever they had been injected with fulfilled it's duty when some of the team had passed out, as nothing sketchy has happened since.

Tony's been a mess, shutting himself out from the world. He would almost never leave Peter's side. He lied saying he was really sick when anything work related popped up. He wasn't concerned if he was found guilty of lying anyways. He was Tony Stark after all.

Bruce knew when to give Tony his space, but this was just getting ridiculous. He knew Tony hadn't been eating a lot of food, and drank so much coffee it could make a sloth run a marathon and win first place.

Bruce arrived right at the door of the room Tony was in. He went to open it, only for it to be locked. He wasn't surprised though. Bruce expected it really.

"Tony?" Bruce said, knocking lightly on the door.

"Hmm?" Tony responded.

"Can I come in?" Bruce asked.

At first, Bruce thought Tony wasn't going to say anything. He was about to knock and ask again, when the door opened.

For a week and a half, Tony looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot, but also gave off the impression that he was very tired at the same time. His hair was a mess and he was still wearing the same clothes he was wearing a week ago.

"We need to talk," Bruce said.

"About?" Tony asked, turning around and sitting back down in the chair by Peter's bed.

"C'mon Tony, don't play dumb. For starters, you need to eat something," Bruce said, crossing his arms.

"Not hungry," Tony said.

"I didn't ask. There's leftover pizza upstairs. Come have a couple of slices," Bruce said.

He knew pizza probably wasn't the best thing to eat on an empty stomach like Tony's, but at this point anything would be better than nothing.

"Barf," Tony answered, his eyes not moving from Peter's sleeping form.

"Guess we gotta do this the hard way," Bruce said as he started walking towards Tony.

"What do you mean the hard w- hey!" Tony, who was basically being dragged out the room by Bruce said.

"You need to eat," Bruce said.

"I don't want to!" Tony said, trying to make his way back to the chair.

"Do it for Peter!" Bruce said.

Tony finally stopped resisting and looked Bruce in the eyes.

"Please, Tony. You want Peter to wake up and see you like this? Worrying, not eating, not sleeping, over him?" Bruce calmly stated.

Tony looked back at Peter, who still lay motionless other than the rise and fall of his chest.

"Fine," Tony said, giving in and walking with Bruce to the kitchen.

At first, Tony nibbled on his food, hoping to get by without actually eating anything. But Bruce was watching him like a hawk, and Tony knew he had to eat at least one slice.

After eating one and a half pieces, Tony said, "Happy?"

"Very," Bruce answered.

"Great, can I go back now?" Tony asked.

"Not until you tell me what's up," Bruce said.

Tony sighed. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"Why are you shutting us out? Why won't you let us help you?" Bruce asked.

"I'm not... shutting you out," Tony said, looking down.

Bruce just sighed. He really didn't know what to say...

"You know it's not your fault, Tony," Bruce said.

"Do you actually believe that? This kid has been through hell. He's probably looked death in the face. And I take him in, and not even a month in this happens? I should've went with my gut when I thought not to leave him out alone," Tony snapped.

"But you didn't know! Sure you lost your parents, and it makes sense why you think you're a good fit to help him through this tough time, but everyone has different ways they cope with it. And I think Peter's way is going out and being distracted by doing the one thing he enjoys doing. Being Spider-Man," Bruce said.

"Well he's gonna need to find a new way to cope then," Tony mumbled to himself, but Bruce still heard it.

"What does that mean?" Bruce asked.

"You think I can let him go out again after this?" Tony said.

"I mean, he's gotta heal and all, but then he can-"

"Go out again?!" Tony interrupted, "No way! The only chance he ever does this again is if he's moved out! And even that's a stretch."

Bruce couldn't believe what Tony just said.

"You can't seriously think you're gonna be able to take this away from him," Bruce insisted.

"I can't take a chance at losing him again!" Tony nearly shouted.

Tony took a deep breath then sighed, "As long as he's staying here, he's done being Spider-Man."

"What makes you think he'll stay then? Spider-Man is all he has left!" Bruce said.

"I'm sure he just wants to be a regular teenager anyways," Tony said.

"Then ask him about it, I guarantee you he wouldn't agree. How do you think it'll make him feel being told he can't be a superhero, and then see you on the news saving the city as IronMan?!" Bruce demanded.

"My mind's made up Bruce. He may not like it but he will learn to deal with it," Tony said.

"'This kid has been to hell', remember when you said that? And how you want to help him through it? Do you honestly think taking this away from him will help?" Bruce said.

"I'm done arguing Bruce, the decision is final," Tony said before walking out of the room, leaving Bruce speechless.

 **X**

 **X**

 **X**

 **I really suck at updating. But hey a good thing to know about me is that I will finish a story, no matter how long I take. I really can't leave it unfinished.**

 **Anyways sorry this was short, the next chapter will be better (hopefully)**

 **Please review so I know at least one person thinks I should continue :)**


	10. Chapter 10

It had been another week, but Peter finally woke up. He was confused at first, but Tony reminded him of everything that had happened while Bruce checked his injuries once again.

Peter was basically back to normal, but he would have to stay in bed for a couple more days due to the concussion he had.

Tony still felt guilty about what had happened. And despite his argument with Bruce, he still believed it was better to stop Peter from being Spider-Man.

Tony wanted to wait until Peter had gotten better to tell him. He didn't know how he would do it, but just hoped that it would go decently smooth.

The Avengers were all sweet when it came to Peter. They had gotten him little get well cards, Spider-Man themed balloons, and would bring him food sometimes when he was in bed.

Still, Tony stayed with him the most. Even when Peter was asleep, Tony would still be in there, reading a book or something of that sort.

In fact, it's what he was doing now. A book in one hand, coffee in the other. He was so lost in what he was reading he didn't hear Clint enter the room.

"Hey," Clint said, making Tony slightly jolt, almost spilling his coffee.

"Oh, hey," Tony said back, putting his book down after marking where he was at in it.

"How's he doing?" Clint said, nodding towards Peter.

"Bruce said he should be back to himself by next week. He needs to do small exercises, but nothing major," Tony answered.

"And what about you?" Clint asked, locking eyes with Tony.

"What about me?" Tony said nonchalantly.

"How are you doing?" Clint asked again, just in a different way.

"I'm fine. I didn't get any kind of injuries," Tony said.

"I didn't mean physically," Clint said.

"What does that mean?" Tony said, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't play dumb with me, Stark," Clint said, throwing his hands up in frustration, "I know how much this kid means to you. You stay in here all day, only coming out to eat. And you always bring the food in here anyways. We don't see you. I know you get little to no sleep. You've consumed so much caffeine, I wouldn't be surprised if it killed you! So let me ask again, what about you?"

Tony sighed, "Look, I don't know. I just, I should've gone with my gut. I should've told him to come back. Then maybe this could have been avoided."

"Oh come on, don't tell me that could have been avoided. From what Peter's told us, that guy knew who he was. He would have found him whether he was wearing the suit of not. Don't blame yourself. If anything go ahead and blame me, I was the one who told you to let him stay out," Clint said.

"Yeah, but, that's different. Besides, it won't happen again, don't worry," Tony said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"How do you know that? He's Spider-Man, you can't guarantee that. The only way it 'wouldn't happen again'," Clint said, doing air quotes with his fingers, "is if you told him he couldn't—"

Clint stopped. Tony couldn't do that... no, he wouldn't. Would he?

Clint looked up, locking eyes with Tony once again.

"Are you going to take Spider-Man away from him?" Clint asked.

"Yes! Okay, yes!" Tony said, standing up, "You think I could just let him go out, knowing he could possibly die? And what about what just happened? If he wasn't Spider-Man it wouldn't have happened."

"You can't be serious," Clint said, picking up one of the get well cards that had a picture of Spider-Man on it and pointing to him, "This is who he is! You can't take that away from him. Spider-Man is a part of who he is. If you kill that off, you'll be killing a part of Peter!"

"Yeah well I'd rather kill a part of him than all of him," Tony said.

"After everything this kid has gone through, his parents, uncle, and now his aunt?! And this may be his only get away, his only distraction. And you want to take that from him?" Clint said furiously, but not loud enough to wake up Peter, who was a heavy sleeper anyways.

"I don't—I have to. I can't lose him again," Tony said, running a hand through his hair.

"Tony, I know, okay? I know how protective you can be over... well Peter isn't your kid but you know what I mean. Trust me, it hurts sometimes, but... you've got to let them go. Not like, the way you may be thinking. But you have to let them be their own person. There's no such thing as a fun prison. I think. You can't control his life," Clint said, awkwardly putting a hand on Tony's shoulder.

"Then he can be Spider-Man when he's living on his own," Tony said calmly.

"At that point the passion might be burned out, and he won't even be the same person," Clint said.

"Then I guess it wouldn't have mattered to him that much if he doesn't go back to it," Tony said.

"Peter represents something as Spider-Man. It can be different for so many people. He can be some sort of hope, a hero, you name it! But Spider-Man also represents something to Peter. How will he react, seeing the news with all of the 'where's Spider-Man?' crap on it?" Clint said.

"I'll admit, you have good points. But I... I can't let him. If Peter hates me for it, then that's fine. As long as he's safe," Tony said, looking down.

"But he—"

"Enough, Clint! I've thought about it for the longest time, okay? The pros outweigh the cons. No more Spider-Man," Tony said, cutting off Clint.

"Fine. Let me know how that goes over with Peter," Clint said, then angrily left.

"Jeez," Tony said, going to pick up his book and read again, when he noticed Peter start to wake up.

"Hey," Tony said after Peter opened his eyes.

Peter tried to say something, but his voice was really raspy. Tony got up and got some water, then brought it to Peter's lips for him to drink.

"Thanks," Peter said.

"How are you feeling?" Tony asked.

"M fine... Weird dream," Peter said.

"Care to tell me what it was about?" Tony asked, slightly scooting his chair closer.

"Just, you were telling someone I couldn't be Spider-Man anymore. Funny, right? Peter said.

"Uhhh... yeah," Tony said.

If there was ever a time to tell him, Tony believed now was the time. He didn't know how to bring it up, but this was the perfect opportunity. Tony had to tell him.

"Actually, it wasn't a dream," Tony said.

"Was it a hallucination?" Peter asked tiredly.

"No, I mean... I did say that," Tony said.

"Say that... I..." Peter couldn't finish.

"Couldn't be Spider-Man anymore," Tony finished for him.

"You don't mean it though, right?" Peter said, all signs of tiredness leaving his body as he tried to sit up.

"Yeah... I do," Tony said, not knowing how to follow that up.

"You can't do that... I—for how long do you not want me to be Spider-Man?" Peter asked, not knowing what to say.

"Well... for as long as you're here," Tony said.

"Then, then I'll leave. Ned can let me stay with him, his parents will understand," Peter said.

"No, Peter, you can't just leave," Tony said.

"And you can't just think that you can stop me from being Spider-Man," Peter said angrily.

"Yes I can," Tony said.

"You're not the boss of me... you—you're not my dad!" Peter said, trying to get out of bed.

"Just because, stop, you need to—Peter would you stop?!" Tony almost shouted at Peter, who winced with every movement as he tried to get out of the bed.

"Your injuries are healed but your body is still very sore. It's been a while since you've been up and at it," Tony said.

"Whatever," Peter said, giving up and sitting back down, crossing his arms.

"And... I kind of am your dad. Okay that sounded weird, not your dad, but I'm your legal guardian," Tony said.

"Psh, since when?" Peter asked.

"Since the day you came home with me. You think they just let any 16 year old orphan go about the streets of New York on their own?" Tony asked.

"I don't understand... How are you my legal guardian? Don't you have to like... fill out stuff for that?" Peter said.

"Yes, and I already did. When I took you back I had to sign a lot of papers and boring stuff like that. So, until you're at least 18 you're staying here," Tony said.

"Why can't I be Spider-Man?" Peter demanded.

"So you can avoid things like this," Tony asked.

"Taking chances to go through things like this is worth it to me, as long as i can be Spider-Man," Peter said.

"I don't think you understand what you put me through. I've known you for such a short amount of time, and you almost dying is the worst thing I've ever gone through," Tony said.

"But, I've been Spider-Man for a while now. I can't just... stop. I won't," Peter said.

"Like it or not, you will. I've already taken your suit and web shooters. And if you try going out and playing hero, let's just say the consequences will be much worse," Tony said.

"What am I, a prisoner?!" Peter yelled.

"If that's what it takes to keep you safe, then yes!" Tony shouted back.

"Don't you get it? I need to be Spider-Man! I know I risk my life every time I go out there, but you can't take this away from me!" Peter said.

"I think I value your life a lot more than you do. There is no changing my mind. You're done," Tony said.

"Then I'll run away," Peter said.

"I'll find you," Tony said.

There was a long silence in the room. Neither knew what to say. Peter's blood was boiling with rage while Tony didn't know what to feel.

"Go," Peter said.

"Wha—"

"I said go!" Peter shouted.

"Pete—"

"No! I don't want to hear it! You want to take Spider-Man away from me? Fine! But just know that the second I turn 18, I'm leaving. And don't think things will be normal either. I don't want to see your face or talk to you again!" Peter yelled.

"Fine. Don't thank me for saving you, and get mad when I try to keep you safe," Tony said.

Tony tried hiding the hurt on his face as he stormed out the room.

Peter just sat there in disbelief. Who did Tony think he was to take away the one thing away from Peter that now mattered the most?

 **X**

 **X**

 **X**

 **PLEASE READ:**

 **Okay so I have 2 ways this can go. I could either add another chapter, finish the story off on a good note for option one. Or I could make a sequel to this. The sequel would include like a suicidal Peter and a lot of other things. In the end Tony and Peter would grow closer towards the end in that one as well.**

 **Please if it's not too much to ask for tell me which one you'd like. 1 or 2. And also if you could review this chapter as well that would be highly appreciated.**

 **Thank you!**


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys! So out of the 2 options I gave you in the last chapter, number 2 won! So, I'm making a sequel! Never thought I'd say that.

Chapter one is out now! Go follow Good For Nothing :)

Thank you to everyone who has read this story :D


End file.
